


at the end of the day you can tell me I'm wrong 'cause you went to all of this trouble

by orphan_account



Category: A Love Like War (Feat. Vic Fuentes), All Time Low (Band), Pierce the Veil
Genre: Alex is honestly so obvious, Alex jokes about Vic overdosing on cough drops, Alternate Universe - No Band, Crushes, Faking Sicknesses, Fluff, I Tried, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Pining, Sleep? What is Sleep?, Songfic, There’s alcohol, Vic is totally into Audrey Hepburn movies, Vic just wants alex to love him, alcohol use, alex is homophobic, alex is such a social butterfly, but he doesn’t have a problem with others being gay, but not exactly in the way you’re thinking, but still, hints of angst, it’s just a bit of whiskey, it’s more like he’s afraid to be gay, just kidding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-03-25 04:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13826592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: songfic inspired by all time low’s a love like war.a trip to the movies with alex and his friends leaves vic feeling crushed by the weight of his crush on alex, who, unlike jack, rian, and zack, is painfully obvious to it and kinda homophobic.





	at the end of the day you can tell me I'm wrong 'cause you went to all of this trouble

**Author's Note:**

> i’m pretty sure this is gonna be a mess. i should probably find a beta reader for my stuff, ‘cause obviously checking over it myself isn’t really helping much, though i suppose i’ve improved majorly since my first fanfic four years ago.
> 
> it was so hard to resist putting some gerard/frank in here, but i’m proud of myself because i managed somehow.
> 
> also the 22nd of march is approaching and i’m gonna cry while cradling my mcr cd.

_“make a wish on our sorry little hearts-“_

 

vic chewed on his bottom lip as he was hustled out of the cinema by the four guys he’d come with. they were all grinning and horsing around, alex pulling rian’s shirt over his head and jack throwing himself on zack’s back. zack stumbled for a moment, grabbing at rian’s arm to keep himself balanced, but only succeeding in dragging him down to the ground with him when he fell. their grins remained as they untangled their limbs and got up, rian pulling his shirt down, effectively restoring his ability to see things. 

“hey vic, are ya feelin’ alright?” alex asked, cocking his head to the side because vic was usually eager to participate in the roughhousing and horseplay, however tonight he was ensuring there was several feet between him and the group. vic cleared his throat before answering in the most normal tone he could muster with his face flushed, heart beating fast, and butterflies going bat-shit crazy in his stomach from the intensity of alex’s gaze. 

“yeah, ‘s just a little headache.” he said, and alex touched his fingertips to vic’s forehead, making the pink in his cheeks become much more prominent. “just a headache..?” alex didn’t sound convinced, so vic lurched forward and faked a violent cough that he imagined was what extracating innards through the mouth would sound like. 

“shit dude, that really doesn’t sound good.” rian said, and zack nodded in agreement, before he started spouting off medical stuff that left all of them confused yet intrigued because what? when did he learn all this shit and why didn’t he ever mention he knew enough to be an effing doctor before? “well,” vic said, once zack had finished his little medical monologue, “i should be heading home now. ‘m gonna swallow half a bag of cough drops, curl up on the couch and binge watch audrey hepburn movies.” vic mumbled as jack and rian shuffled off toward rian’s car. 

“d’ya want a ride?” alex asked, jerking a thumb toward the car, where the others were doing god knows what in the backseat, and vic shook his head, mumbling that he’d hail a taxi because he’d rather not see what was going on in there. 

 

 _“have a smoke, pour a drink, steal a kiss in the dark_ _-“_

 

when vic got home he did in fact curl up on the couch with  _breakfast at tiffany’s_ in the dvd player, but he didn’t bother with cough drops because he’d faked the cough, and even if he hadn’t he disliked their taste and couldn’t keep one in his mouth for longer than a minute before it was spit out into the garbage or nearest toilet. instead he opted for popcorn and a bottle of whiskey because why not? 

about halfway through the movie, when vic was in the middle of finally pouring himself a glass of the amber liquid he heard a knock on his apartment door and set the bottle down. “um..” he hadn’t been expecting anyone so he wasn’t exactly dressed. he supposed whoever it was would have to deal with his lack of a shirt and pants. i mean, his batman boxers were totally covering everything he’d rather no one saw. with a groan of protest he got up and shuffled over to the door, peering through the peephole to see alex standing there, looking a tad awkward -but hot- standing alone in a dimly lit hallway. vic’s heart started beating a few paces faster as he opened the door, pretending to be surprised to find alex on the other side, as if he hadn’t been checking him out through the peephole.

”hey vic,” alex said with a smile, and vic just wanted to melt into the wall because his face was flushed pink and alex was bound to notice. “um, hey.” vic responded, giving a halfhearted wave and glancing back at the television, which had just made a loud noise that would’ve startled him if he hadn’t already seen the movie a billion times and known that there was a scratch in his disk that caused a noise comparable to a banshee’s screech. “do you wanna come in?”alex nodded, and vic stepped aside so he could come in, shutting the door behind him. “shoes.” vic mumbled, pointing toward the slightly muddied converse alex was wearing. while alex was pulling off his shoes vic returned to the couch, casting a glance toward the glass with a bit of whiskey in it. he’d never got the chance to fill it.

”so, uh, what brings you here?” vic asked, and alex shrugged. “just wanted to check up on you i guess. you did kinda sound like you were gonna cough your guts up before you left.” he flopped down on the couch next to vic, eying the whiskey warily. “you been drinking?”

”no, not yet. i was just about to pour some before you got here.” alex leaned forward, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and holding it up. “dude, you’re already sick, d’ya really think it’s healthy for you to be drinking this?” vic flashed him a ‘who gives a damn’ look before making grabby hands at the bottle, but alex held it up out of his reach, shaking his head. “vic, seriously, you’re sick and this will only make it worse.” vic gave a sigh of defeat and laid back, fixating his gaze on the screen until he heard liquid being poured into his glass. before he could be bothered to look he felt it pressing on his lower lip and the scent of whiskey filled his nose. 

“here. i’ll let you drink this much, but no more, and don’t try those puppy eyes on me. they won’t work this time.” vic blinked, confused, because he’d never tried puppy eyes on alex, though he did recall him giving in to vic several times before because of his so-called puppy eyes. he parted his lips and the glass lifted, sending a wave of the bitter liquid into his mouth before tilting down again. ”i don’t need you to do that. i can do it myself.” vic insisted once he’d swallowed, but alex didn’t forfeit control of the glass. he didn’t lift it up to send more whiskey into vic’s mouth either. in fact, he’d pulled the glass away and leaned over, warm, mint-scented breath fanning vic’s face. “a-alex?” vic stuttered out, face flushed red because what the hell? why?

alex lifted the glass to his own lips, downed half of it, and set it on the table, muttering something about “not doing this completely sober,” before leaning so close the tips of their noses were touching. the whole time, vic hadn’t broke eye contact with alex, but when he was so close it was hard not to go cross eyed he had to focus on something, anything else. then his train of thought came to a sudden and complete halt when he felt alex’s lips brush against his, sending sparks through his body and causing the butterflies fluttering in his stomach to go absolutely freaking nuts. alex did it again, letting his lips linger there a few seconds longer before he tilted his head properly and went for it, pressing his lips to vic’s.

all vic could think about was how right it felt and how soft alex’s lips were, before he was pushed away and alex stood up, bumping the table and knocking over the glass of whiskey as he rushed out, not even bothering to stop and put his shoes on.

 

 _“fingernails on my skin like the teeth of a shark_  
i'm intoxicated by the lie-“

 

“vic, wake up you lazy son of a bitch.” vic groaned and rolled over to the other side of his bed, only to find that he wasn’t on his bed and had just rolled off of the couch. he groaned again at the impact and felt a foot prodding his side. “leave me alone mike,” he mumbled, pulling the blanket wrapped around his midsection over his head. “fine, i’ll go tell that barakat guy to come back later.” mike said, and vic found himself a bit more awake than before. “jack’s here?” mike didn’t answer, having left to tell jack that vic was “so damn hungover he forgot he was on the couch,” so vic got up with a little help from the table, and stumbled over to the door, giving mike a light shove so he would move out of the way.

”christ, you look like shit? what happened to coming home and overdosing on coughdrops?” jack asked, leaning on the doorframe and raising an eyebrow at the batman boxers that were riding quite low on vic’s hips. “alex happened,” vic muttered and heard mike make kissy noises behind him. “maybe we should talk about this elsewhere?” jack suggested and vic nodded vigorously. “i’ll go get some clothes on and meet you downstairs in ten minutes.”

x x

”so, what did you mean by “alex happened?”” jack asked after swallowing a mouthful of his iced coffee and vic looked down at the milkshake in his hands. “he um, kissed me and ran off.” jack didn’t say anything at first, mostly because he was drinking more coffee, but when he realised what vic said he almost did that thing in cartoons where the character spits their drink out all over the other person. “he what?” vic set the milkshake down on the table and crossed his arms. “i’m pretty sure you don’t need a repeat,” jack downed the rest of his coffee and slammed the styrofoam cup down on the table. “he needs to figure his shit out. the fucker’s afraid of being gay but he goes and does that?”

 _“in the chill of your stare i am painfully lost_  
_like a deer in the lights of an oncoming bus-“_

 

 vic felt a wave of deja vu as he was hustled out of a brightly coloured night-club and it would have been exactly like the night alex kissed him if alex had been with him, jack, rian, and zack tonight. but he’d claimed he was ill and was staying home, which vic was totally cool with. he wasn’t really in the mood to deal with the awkwardness of having alex around. 

unfortunately the fates seemed to be pitted against him because there alex was, standing just a few feet away with his arm around a woman’s waist and his lips on hers. it made vic feel sort of sick, knowing those lips had been on his days ago. he nudged jack and pointed to alex, which may have been a mistake because jack promptly stormed over and started shit which was not vic’s intention at all.

while alex was being called out on his shit vic was herded away by zack an rian who were pretending to be very interested in a flyer for a local band on the wall. “pierce the veil? sounds kinda..what’s the word..poetic.” rian commented, pulling it off the wall and shoving it into vic’s hands. “they”re looking for a singer. why don’t you-“ jack cut him off, pushing alex forward and into their little group huddle. 

“alex has something he’d like to say.”

_“for the thrill of your touch I will shamefully lust_  
_as you tell me we're nothing but trouble-“_

 somehow vic had ended up at zack’s place with a mug of tea in his hands and a twisting, contorting feeling in the pit of his stomach. rian was on one side and zach on the other while jack was ‘talking’ with alex in the other room. there was a bit of shouting at first but now all they could hear were bits of whispered conversations or one of them pacing. “so, you’re gay, for alex?” rian asked, attempting to start a conversation, and vic nodded. “as gay as a rainbow.”

”and he kissed you,” vic nodded again. “then ran away like a pussy?” vic opened his mouth to respond but the door opened and alex shuffled in with jack close behind. jack squeezed in next to rian and pressed a kiss to his cheek before speaking. “i think our little conversation went well.” alex kinda stood by the wall, watching them warily, hands shoved in his hoodie pockets. “it’s alright alex, vic’s not going to bite you.” this didn’t seem to fully convince alex but he squeezed in between zack and vic anyway, tentatively resting his head on vic’s shoulder and lacing their fingers together loosely. 

 

 _“heart's on fire tonight_  
_feel my bones ignite_  
_feels like war, war_  
_feels like war, war_  
_heart's on fire tonight_  
_feel my bones ignite_  
_feels like war, war_  
_feels like war, war-“_

 

 

 _“we go together or we don't go down at all_  
_we go together or we don't go down at all_  
_we go together or we don't go down at all, whoa-“_

 

 

 _“fail-safe trigger, lock down call_  
_wipe the dry clean slate, quick, sound the alarm-“_

  **timestamp: 1 month later**

_”vic i can’t do this anymore.”_

_”what? why?”_

_”i’m scared, terrified of us.”_

and that was it, alex left, moved out of town without warning, changed his number, and cut all ties with his friends. nobody could get in contact with him and vic was left feeling hurt and alone despite zack, rian, and jack’s attempts to cheer him up. he didn’t understand why alex left. he thought things were going great. they were happy, at least, it had seemed that way.

apparently alex wasn’t.

 

 _“no escape from the truth and the weight of it all_  
_i am caught in the web of a lie-“_

 

 

_”a_ _nd the bitch of it all is that i'm running from_  
_the desire of the people to whom i belong-“_

 

 

 _“at the end of the day you can tell me i'm wrong_  
_'cause you went to all of this trouble-“_

 

 

 _“heart's on fire tonight_  
_feel my bones ignite_  
_feels like war, war_  
_feels like war, war_  
_heart's on fire tonight_  
_feel my bones ignite_  
_feels like war, war_  
_feels like war, war-“_

 

 

 _“we go together or we don't go down at all_  
_we go together or we don't go down at all_  
_we go together or we don't go down at all, whoa_  
_(let's go)-“_

 

 

_”heart's on fire tonight_  
_feel my bones ignite_  
_it feels like war (it feels like war)_  
_love feels like war (love feels like war)-“_

 

 

 _“heart's on fire tonight_  
_feel my bones ignite_  
_feels like war, war_  
_feels like war, war_  
_heart's on fire tonight_  
_feel my bones ignite_  
_feels like war, war_  
_feels like war, war_  
_(one more time!)-“_

 

 

_”we go together or we don't go down at all_  
_we go together or we don't go down at all_  
_we go together or we don't go down at all (don't go down at all)-“_

  **timestamp: 3 years later**

“oh my god.” vic nearly dropped his microphone when he saw alex in the crowd, staring up at him, face illuminated by the blue and purple lights onstage. alex met his gaze and they stared at eachother for three solid minutes before jaime launched them into the next song and he had to start singing again. but he made sure he didn’t lose soght of alex the entire time and once they had finished he dropped his microphone and climbed offstage into the crowd. 

the energy of pierce the veil’s fans vibrated around him as he wove through, and started shaking when someone shoved a hand down his pants. it didn’t stay long because alex had stormed over, pissed, and pulled the girl off of him before pulling vic into his arms protectively.

 

_“is this the end of us or just the means to start again?”  
_

**Author's Note:**

> originally this was supposed to be a super fluffy, happy, angst-free fic. yep, it didn’t really stay that way. oops.


End file.
